Obama Basically Admits That the Government Is Developing Iron Man

So it was probably a joke, but while speaking about manufacturing innovation and the "year of action" first mentioned in the State of the Union, President Obama revealed on Wednesday what we've all suspected: "Basically I'm here to announce that we're building Iron Man." Yessss.

He's actually talking about agency collaboration to promote new research in fields like materials science and fabrication. For example the Army is already working on its own version of an Iron Man suit, called the Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit, or TALOS.

Advertisement

But Obama certainly left the door open for speculation. "I'm gonna blast off in a second," he joked. "This has been a secret project we've been working on for a long time. Not really. Maybe. It's classified." That's exactly the kind of hedging we like to hear.

March 3 2015 1:39 PMThe “Most Pleasurable Portrayal of Libertarianism“ Bonus SegmentDavid, Emily, and John discuss what Parks and Recreation got right about government.Emily Bazelon, David Plotz, and John Dickerson